Fall Thievery
by Paulina Ann
Summary: HB: 10 yo Joe/11 yo Frank. Halloween is coming up and the local haunted house and hayride is having some problems with theft. While on their own haunted tour, the boys decide to help our their dad by keeping their eyes open. (Just 3 chapters, but hope you enjoy it.)
1. Chapter 1

**Fall Thievery**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters. I do have some OCs though that are mine.

 **Rating/Setting:** Rating is K+. Setting is pre-Blue Spine as the boys are in 5th and 6th grades. Don't worry, I'll have them grow up eventually. ;-D

 **Author's Notes:** This story follows "Cheaters Never Prosper." While it isn't necessary to read that story to understand this one, events from that story will be referenced. And I really couldn't come up with a good title, so please forgive this very bland title. Also, this story will be pretty short – 3 chapters. I try my hand at a touch of mystery, but I admit it's not my strong suit. This story is to build on the characters and their interactions for future stories. Hope you like it in spite of the title!

And for those of you who say there needs to be more 'Joe stories'... well here you go. ;-)

* * *

 **Chapter One**

While 5th grade didn't start off the best for Joe, things had settled down by the time the first six weeks' grading period ended. They were now in the second six weeks and his testing for the academically gifted class was complete. Now it was a matter of paperwork being completed, forms signed, and approval of placement. Joe had no idea that teachers did that much paperwork. He wondered what else they did that students usually had no idea about.

It was Friday afternoon and he was in the section of his trip home where he walked alone. His mind left thoughts of school and returned to the upcoming Halloween holiday. This year, Halloween fell on a Friday and the Mortons were throwing a huge party at the farm. He had decided on his costume and had ordered it online. It was going to be here in just a couple of days and he couldn't wait to try it on. He and Frank were keeping their costumes a secret from each other until the party. He couldn't wait… but as usual he would have to.

However, his thoughts could happily be turned to upcoming night's event. Before they had the big party at the Morton's in two weeks, there was the outdoor hayride and haunted house. To say that Hampton's Haunted Hollow was just a hayride or just a simple haunted house would be a gross understatement of gigantic proportions. Triple H drew visitors from over an hour away. The hayride portion of the event was the most sedate part of the experience, but even it had its frights as monsters, zombies and lunatics would come out of the lantern-lit rutted trail that went through part of the forest on the property. The ride set you up to get off and walk through part of the forest to an old house that was originally on the property and now served a different purpose than housing a family. What was super cool about this section was that you weren't stuck with only one route to follow. When you got off the hayride, there were at least five marked pathways that you could take and each led you somewhere different or took you to different room in the house or the old barn behind it. During the day, the owners changed up the routes so even if you went back the next night and did all the routes, you'd still have a slightly different experience. The many different people that the Hampton's hired to 'work' as the monsters/lunatics/zombies had great costumes and make-up. While Joe freely admitted that they creeped him out and even scared him on occasion, he wasn't scared of them as it was well-publicized that they all had background checks and were not to touch the guests at any time.

Joe picked up his pace and jogged toward the waiting figure of his brother at the end of the driveway. Tonight was going to be great.

Joe and Frank waved to their mom as they climbed into their dad's sedan later that evening. Joe couldn't help but frown once again as Frank got to ride shotgun up front with their father. 'Perk of being the older brother,' Frank always told him. That was Frank… older by a year and four months and taller than his younger sibling by several envied inches. Joe thought about it yet again as he buckled his seatbelt. Joe was on the short side for his age, while Frank was close to 5' and on the taller side for his peers. Joe took a little consolation that he would have a growth spurt like Frank and maybe get close to his brother's height as there wasn't any way for him to beat him in the age category. Joe's thoughts about their height left his mind as he heard his father start talking.

"Just as we planned, we'll pick up Chet and Iola. Biff, Tony, and Phil will be coming with Mr. Prito."

Joe almost wanted to roll his eyes but knew that if his father caught sight of it in the mirror he'd be in big trouble. He just felt that his parents went a little overboard in the protective area sometimes. His dad especially liked to go over all the details. It was obvious to Joe that Frank took after their father in that regard.

"Joe? Are you listening?" Fenton said when he saw Joe looking out the window.

"Yeah, Dad, of course I'm listening." Joe thought he heard Frank snicker, but since his dad didn't say anything, neither would he.

"Okay. It's just important that you know the plan," Fenton said as he glanced in the rearview mirror. Seeing Joe nod, he continued. "The two of you are to stay together. Frank will have the cell phone in case you need it."

"Because he's older." Joe couldn't help but add with yet another frown.

"Because he more careful."

"Whatever," Joe said under his breath as he once again turned to the window. It just seemed that Frank got special treatment for his age.

"Did you say something, Joe?"

"No, sir. Not at all." Joe replied without a trace of sarcasm.

"Good. I also wanted to let you fellas know that I'll be hanging around for bit and will probably go through a few times on my own." Catching sight of Frank's confused face, Fenton continued. "I've been hired by the Hamptons' to locate a thief. A pickpocket as it would seem. So, I want you to be on guard and if you notice anything, be sure to let me know."

Joe's eyes sparkled from the backseat. A mystery. No matter if he was irritated with Frank, Joe knew they'd be in this together as they both loved a mystery.

"What have they stolen?" Frank asked innocently enough.

"Oh, phones, tablets, wallets, that sort of thing," Fenton answered with a slight smile. His boys might think they were being low key but he knew that they would be trying to find the thief as well as he was. It seemed like a fairly safe thing for the boys to do a little legwork on. There hadn't been any attacks or weapons involved. So if the boys knew what to look for, then they might just be able to help him out a little.

"Have the owners seen any pattern as to where the thefts occur?" Joe asked with feigned disinterest as he looked out the window.

Fenton couldn't resist a full-blown smile as he turned to look out the driver's side window. Joe's question was one that most ten year olds wouldn't have asked or phrased in that manner. It seemed the boys were really picking up on his skills. "It is uncertain exactly where the thefts happen, but they have been discovered all through the park and since the employees move through the different areas, they can't pinpoint a zone or a suspect."

Silence took over the car as they neared the Morton farm and the boys began thinking about how to solve the mystery.

"Hi, Joe!" Iola said as she slid into the backseat of the sedan next to Joe and began to buckle.

Joe noted Chet's smile as he sat on Iola's other side. "Yeah. Hi, Joe. _Hi, Frank_." Chet enunciated his greeting to Frank as he looked at his sister.

"Oh yeah, hi, Frank," Iola said as blushed slightly.

"Hi, Iola. Hi, Chet." Frank and Joe chorused.

Talk then went to the week at school and the upcoming night. While the event had been open for a week, it was the first time for them this year. The excited chatter soon led to discussions of what would be different this year and what friends had already said about some changes. They were especially looking forward to the new so-called dark zones. As the friends piled out of the car, they saw their other group of friends waiting with Mr. Prito near the entrance. Seeing Al Prito, Fenton waved for the kids to run on ahead of him.

Soon the group had their tickets for three trips through the haunted event. Looking at the bill in his hand, Fenton could see why the Hamptons didn't want a lot of bad publicity. Obviously, this was a huge money maker and if people thought that pickpockets were on the prowl, profits might go down. Now he just had to see if he could figure out if it was an employee or a visitor that was doing the stealing….

Joe climbed up in the back of the trailer loaded with hay and sat next to Chet. Turning to speak to Frank who had been right behind him, he discovered that Iola had moved to sit in between them. His face colored a light pink as Iola linked her arm with his.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Iola said quietly to him.

Joe could see past Iola to the smirk on his brother's face. Disengaging his arm from hers, he grumpily said, "Sure." Turning back toward Chet, he felt a little bad as he had seen the hurt look on her face when he made a point of pulling his arm away. _She's one of the guys_ , he thought. _Why does she have to go messing up our friendship?_

Frank had seen the callous way that Joe had treated Iola and he felt bad for her. Poking her in the side, he got her attention and pointed out some ghouls that were lurking in the edge of the trees.

Joe heard his brother talking to Iola and turned to see the ghouls he was talking about when the trailer lurched as the tractor started forward. Being off-balance on the hay, Iola had fallen into Frank. Joe watched as Frank helped Iola sit back up and discovered that he didn't like the way that Frank was still holding on to her or the soft giggles that came from Iola as Frank whispered to her. He worked to convince himself it didn't matter as he turned back around to talk to Chet.

Soon the group was disembarking from the wagon and choosing their paths. The group of friends quickly made their way to a trail with purple flickering solar lights that were either set into the ground. Or in cases where the grass was tall, posted on tall posts that wouldn't trip anyone.

Even though Frank and Joe were there to have fun, they looked at everyone on this particular path with them. Even though they didn't have to stay close together, they did have to move through the trail as a group. Noting how many were in their group and getting a feel for the faces, they began their trip through.

About twenty minutes later, the group reached the end point where more tractors with hay wagon waited to return them to the start. Everyone had stayed pretty close together and none of the actors in the event had made any move that they saw to touch anyone. They had gone through one dark zone that was in the woods, but being outside, it wasn't as dark as they heard some of the indoor sections were. However, they were all still excited by their first trip through. Climbing into the wagon, Joe noticed that Iola didn't sit next to him this time but had seated herself next to Frank. He didn't like it, but what could he say?


	2. Chapter 2

**Fall Thievery**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters.I do have some OCs though that are mine.

 **Rating/Setting:** Rating is K+. Setting is pre-Blue Spine as the boys are in 5th and 6th grades.

 **Author's Notes:** This story follows "Cheaters Never Prosper." While it isn't necessary to read that story to understand this one, events from that story will be referenced. And don't worry, we're not having a full-blown romance here. Hand-holding will be as "hot" as this story will get for these 10 year olds. ;-)

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

While the kids had gone directly to line for the Halloween experience, Fenton had identified himself to a security officer and was taken to a nearby building that housed the security cameras for the event. Marcus Hampton himself was there to show Fenton the set-up. Fenton was actually impressed at the number of cameras that were installed for the event. The Hampton's had twelve people watching the security screens which made two people watching the cameras for each of the six trails.

Looking at the screens, Fenton moved closer to Marcus and said, "So, after the thefts, you reviewed the footage?"

"We tried, but there are so many cameras and of course no one could be sure if the items were taken on the current trail or one of the ones they went on previously. We watched most of the footage at a double rate of speed but saw nothing. And in fact a number of the phones and tablets were recovered on the nights they were lost."

Turning to Marcus in surprise. "Really? Was there anything unusual about those items?" Finding a couple of lost items would be normal, but a large number threw up a red flag.

Looking Fenton in the eye, he said, "All of them were password protected."

"And the ones that haven't been found?"

"No password. So any 'find my phone' app could be deleted and the phone wiped," Marcus said as he turned back to the screens.

Fenton turned this bit of information over in his mind. Obviously the thief or thieves didn't want the hassle of a locked device. In addition, checking the device and probably wiping it was something that was done pretty soon after the item was stolen. The thief was trying to make it look like the item was simply lost or dropped. Since this had been occurring since opening night, it wasn't random thefts. "I'd like to look at the footage from some of trails that had thefts."

"Certainly. We can have that ready for you to check out during the day tomorrow." Moving back towards the door they had entered, Marcus asked with a smile, "Are you ready to try out one of the haunted trails yourself?"

Laughing as he nodded, Fenton and Marcus left. If they had turned around, they might have noticed that one of the people watching the security cameras was watching them leave.

Joe looked at the dim orange glow up ahead and grew excited. Their second trail was taking them through one of the dark zones in the house. Up ahead he could make out people in their group pushing through some floor-length beaded streamers and disappear into the next room. He could hear Iola's excited breathing from next to him.

"Do you think it's a dark zone?" she asked somewhat breathlessly and stepped closer to Joe as they walked toward the streamers.

"Yep," Joe returned with an excited whisper.

Just then from a dark corner of the room they were in, a figure launched itself from the corner snarling at them. The werewolf had great make-up and its snarls were very realistic. Joe was quite happy that it gave the appearance of being chained to the wall and not quite able to get to them. Of course, he realized as he struggled to gain control of his rampant heartbeat and ragged breathing, they weren't allowed to touch. As he moved closer to the door, he cast a furtive glance behind him at the werewolf that was now snarling at Frank and Chet. Turning back to the front, he realized that Iola had latched onto him during the scare. This time, he did nothing to break away.

To enter the dark zone room, they realized that they had to walk through a series of hanging items. All put there to help block the light. As Joe and Iola entered the room, they could hear the people in front of them and then there would be an occasional flash of light as they followed the glowing stripe on the floor. The flashes of light showed there were 'creatures' in the room with them and with each flash of light they seemed to be closer.

Joe had the urge to hold on to Iola as they neared what appeared to be the exit to the room. He just prayed they'd get there before that creepy looking vampire child reached them. Exiting the room, they heard the vampire hiss at them. Joe shivered involuntarily.

Feeling Joe shiver, Iola said, "Yeah, creeped me out too. Not too sure I really like the dark zones after all."

Soon the group was once again out in the night air. Joe and Frank too stock of their group and once again everyone was there. Nothing suspicious was noted as they boarded the wagon to head back to the start and their last trail for the night.

Sitting on the hay, Joe looked away as Iola sat next to him again. There was a seat open next to Frank and he thought about moving. Then he felt Iola's hand touch his and he changed his mind.

Iola smiled as Joe turned back to her and started talking about the trail they had just finished.

The group of friends had about fifteen minutes to wait in line with their group. Taking this time to see who would be on the trail with them, Frank spotted a vivacious blonde teenage girl who was talking non-stop to two of her girlfriends about the last trail they were on. After noticing that she was extremely pretty, he noticed that her smart phone was precariously located in a hip pocket that was really too small for the new larger-sized phone she had. It was the newest smart phone and would make a great target. It was time to let Joe in on the possible victim.

While Frank was spotting a potential victim, Joe had zeroed in on a possible suspect. There was a dark-haired teen girl wearing a dark hoodie and dark jeans in the group. She didn't stand out for her clothing which was rather non-descript, but because she seemed to be going through solo. In their three trails for the night, they hadn't seen anyone else going through alone except this one girl. Joe felt a nudge in his side, "Yeah?" he asked.

"I think I might have spotted a likely target for the thief," Frank said in a quiet voice.

Joe turned a little and followed Frank's line of sight. Spotting the smart phone, Joe nodded and said, "It's almost like we put out bait. If the thief is in our group or on our trail, I don't see how they could resist that easy pinch." Joe almost laughed at the opportunity they could have in finding the thief. Angling his body so he could once again look at the dark-haired girl, he filled Frank in on his suspect.

"Definitely not the norm," Frank said as he looked at the girl that was still standing a little to the side by herself.

At that moment, Iola bounded up beside the brothers and grabbed Joe's arm. "It's time to load!"

Frank watched as Iola practically dragged Joe away. He found it fun to watch the girl that he thought of as the sister he never had look with longing at his ragtag little brother. Who would have ever thought that Iola would have a crush on Joe? Frank shook his head and followed them to the trailer as Tony fell into step beside him. Tony started speaking but Frank didn't hear much. It had just occurred to him that Joe could very well end up with a girlfriend before him and it shocked him.

"What?" he asked as Tony had asked for an answer. Tony only laughed and told him to get in the trailer.

Joe had watched Frank as he had stopped at the back of the trailer. For a moment, it looked like Frank had seen something shocking as he had stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes opened wide. Then Tony seemed to snap him out of it and Frank climbed in. With a nod at his brother, Joe glanced occasionally at his possible suspect who was seated across from him while Iola chatted about the last trail.

As they exited the trailer, Joe maneuvered himself and Iola behind his suspect while Frank and Chet moved to follow the cell phone bait. Joe found it difficult to monitor both his suspect and enjoy the haunted experience. He gave a start as Iola latched onto his arm as a ghoul jumped from behind a large shrub. Whenever he was distracted from his surveillance, he always had to take a moment to find where the suspect was. So far, he hadn't noticed anything unusual. In fact, he, Iola, and the suspect were in front of the girl with the phone. Right now there was no way she could take it. He sighed as they entered an open area on the way to the barn, maybe there'd be in a dark zone in the barn and something would happen.

Just as they were heading into the barn, the suspect stopped to tie her shoe. Joe and Iola walked past and stopped just inside of the barn. "Um, I need to wait here for Frank," Joe said to Iola.

Frowning at him, she whispered, "Are you two up to something?"

Eyes wide in pretended innocence, he replied, "Us? No way." Turning, he saw the girl with her friends walk past, the cell phone still precariously sticking out of the back pocket.

Punching him in the arm, Iola responded, "Yes way. What is up?"

Sparing a quick glance at her face, he said, "I'll tell you later. There's Frank." Looking at Frank, they exchanged nods and Joe pulled Iola to follow the girl with the cell phone.

Iola grunted and dug in her heels as Joe pulled her forward. "What are you doing?" Her tone was exasperated.

Joe looked ahead to the girl and then back to Iola. "Frank and I are keeping an eye on the girl in front of us. We think someone may try to steal her cell phone," he whispered hurriedly. With that comment, he felt Iola stop resisting and the two of them moved forward quickly.

As they closed the distance between themselves and the girl, Iola whispered again, "Is it a mystery? Are you helping your father?" All the kids knew that Joe and Frank wanted to be detectives just like their father.

Blushing slightly, Joe quietly said, "Dad just told us to keep our eyes peeled. That's what we're doing."

"Do you have a suspect?"

"Kinda. It was the girl in front of us."

Iola frowned up at Joe as they were entering a dark zone, "But she's behind us now."

"Frank's watching her now. We're watching the potential victim," Joe said as the girl and her friends began to move through the streamers indicating an up-coming dark zone. Joe and Iola were only ten yards or so behind the possible victim when the girl in black pushed past them and hurried through the streamers. Without looking back, Joe tightened his hold on Iola's hand and said, "Come on," as he sped up to follow the girl.

Pushing quickly through the streamers, they hardly saw the zombies that were shambling around in the areas near the dark zone. In moments, they were right behind the girl. With the flashes of light that showed they were in a zombie apocalypse zone, they could see the dark girl moving up quickly behind the others. Unfortunately, the room went dark for about fifteen seconds were you could only see the light strips on the floor marking your path. Joe and Iola could hear the 'zombies' shuffling around in the dark along with moans.

Joe's heart was beating quickly as he heard the squeals of the girls in front of him as he and Iola moved forward through the dark. Then there was a series of light flashes as the zombies moved toward them and the girls in front squealed and quickly left that section. Joe had barely gotten a glimpse of the dark girl but she had been directly behind the girl with the cell phone when the room went dark again. Moving forward quickly, Joe and Iola were quickly out of the barn. When they caught up with the girls in front of them, the cell phone was no longer in the girl's back pocket.

"It's gone," Joe breathed out softly.

"What? The cell phone?" Iola asked.

Looking at her and then back to the girls, he responded, "Yes. It's not in her pocket and she's not using it."

The dark girl was now several paces back from the still chatty trio of girls.

Hearing sounds behind them, Joe turned to see Frank hurrying toward them and leaving the rest of the guys. "She just sped up and was gone. I tried to hurry, but didn't want to be obvious." Looking ahead and seeing the girls, he asked, "Did you see anything?"

Joe related what had happened.

Pulling the cell phone from his pocket, Frank said, "Maybe Dad can get to the security trailer and review the footage before we complete our trail. We can't just go up and accuse her without any evidence." In moments Frank was on the phone with Fenton, relaying what happened.

As he was talking the rest of the group caught up. Joe and Iola filled them in.

Slipping the phone back into his pocket, Frank said, "Dad just finished a trail and is heading back to the security trailer."

With nothing else to do but make sure that the suspect didn't leave the trail or hide the evidence somewhere, the group did their best to enjoy the rest of the experience. However, their nerves were wound tight as ten minutes later they boarded the trailer to return to the front gate.

Joe's leg bounced nervously as he sat beside Iola on the hay bale. _What if Dad doesn't get the footage? Will the girl leave or take another trail and steal from another unsuspecting kid?_ Joe could hardly stand the thought. As the group got off the trailer, Joe watched as two uniformed policemen quietly walked up to the girl in the dark clothes and pulled her to the side.

The small group of friends made their way to the planned rendezvous point with Mr. Prito and Fenton. Frank and Joe looked around excitedly for their father and saw him making his way toward them with Marcus Hampton. Fenton told the group that when he had asked to review their trail's security footage, the girl in charge of the cameras for that trail had tried to bolt. She was quickly apprehended and blurted out everything without being asked. She made sure sections of video was lost so that the thefts weren't seen. The girl in the dark clothes was the one who actually lifted items in the dark zones and then left them in the rooms for an accomplice to pick up. That way, she could never be caught with the goods and with the video erased, there would be no evidence pointing toward them.

Marcus Hampton was so excited about the case being solved so quickly, he invited the kids to come back as often as they wanted for free trips. After all, Frank and Joe helped solve the case so he wanted to reward them. Needless to say, Fenton and Al Prito were immediately bombarded for a return trip the next night. With a wink and a smile to Al, Fenton said he thought they might be able to arrange something.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fall Thievery**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters.I do have some OCs though that are mine.

 **Rating/Setting:** Rating is K+. Setting is pre-Blue Spine as the boys are in 5th and 6th grades.

 **Author's Notes:** Final chapter in this little story. Moving on to Valentine's next. ;-D Thanks for reading and to those of you that reviewed!

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

Halloween was finally here and even though the holiday meant an end to their free trips at Triple H, the Hardy boys were excited that the night of the Morton's party had finally arrived.

Joe looked at himself in the mirror over his dresser. _One day. One day, I'll really fit the part_ , Joe said to himself. He was looking at himself in his costume for the party. While it was what he ordered, and he was happy with it, he just wasn't happy with himself. Giving himself a smirk in the mirror, he said out loud, "Yep, I'll look the part in high school." With that, he picked up his over-sized costume hammer and turned with a flourish making his red cape billow behind him.

Frank took one last look in the mirror and nodded his approval. If he could stay away from Joe, no one would even know who he was. Pulling the mask over his face, he pressed a few buttons that made the eyes of the mask light up as well as the circle on his chest.

The brothers stepped into the hallway at the same time. It was also the first time to see the other in their costume. Both smiled at the other although Joe couldn't see Frank's smile for the mask.

Joe looked at Frank's Iron Man costume and quipped, "Wouldn't it have been more appropriate for you to go as Tony Stark? After all, he's the geek behind Iron Man."

Joe's teasing didn't bother Frank because in actuality, he would have liked to go as Tony Stark. However, he wasn't old enough to grow a goatee. Perhaps when they were in high school he would go as the eccentric but genius billionaire.

Frank looked over Joe's Thor costume and thought it fit his brother well for personality. Joe was impulsive and had a quick temper just as the Norse god had in the movies. With Joe's blonde hair, blue eyes, and personality, it was perfect fit. It would have been easy for Frank to throw back a tease at Joe regarding his height or lack of muscles to go with the costume. However, Frank didn't do that. He only laughed at Joe's tease and then moved forward to ruffle Joe's hair.

At the hair ruffle, Joe cried out in mock anger, "Don't make me use the hammer!"

Both boys laughed as they turned for the steps. Jokingly, Joe said, "I think we should dress up like Thor and Iron Man again when we're in high school.

"Sure thing," Frank replied, already planning his goatee. Then his thoughts left future costumes and returned to the night. "So, who do you think Iola plans on dressing up as?"

Feigning indifference, Joe said, "I don't know. Do you?"

Smiling behind his mask, Frank said, "Nope, but Chet said it was good."

When Frank and Joe got out of the car at the Morton farm, Frank hurried away so that no one would see him with Joe. He was determined to remain anonymous for at least a short while. However, he did want to see what Iola was wearing. Chet had told him that Mrs. Morton had found out from Mrs. Hardy what Joe's costume was. Chet said that Iola was intent on wearing something to match Joe's costume if she could. Now that Frank knew that Joe was Thor, he couldn't wait to see what Iola had done. He didn't have long to wait.

Joe walked toward the back of the farmhouse where the bonfire was going full force sending flames up into the night sky and creating a myriad of dark shadows and hidden areas for the Halloween gathering. In contrast to the play of light and dark, the table set up with snacks and treats was surrounded by laughing kids in costumes. Without even thinking, Joe's eyes searched for a certain someone. His brows drew together as he frowned when he didn't see her. He jumped suddenly when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Iola laughed softly when Joe spun with his costume hammer at the ready.

The hammer fell to his side as Joe realized it was Iola who had snuck up on him. He was getting ready to apologize when he saw her costume. She was Lady Sif from Thor. Looking at her suspiciously, he said, "Did you know?"

It was her turn to look sheepish as she responded, "Yeah, Mom found out for me."

Joe found that he wasn't irritated or annoyed that his mom had told about his costume and he wasn't upset that Iola had dressed to match him somewhat. Lady Sif wasn't Thor's love interest but his comrade in arms. He could definitely see Iola that way. And he thought she looked pretty with her dark hair pulled back in a braid. The dark fitted clothes didn't hug her body too tightly and the sword she carried looked very realistic. Nope, he didn't mind at all.

Iola's eyes had searched for the Hardy car from the moment people began to arrive. When she saw it, she had moved into place planning to surprise 'her Thor.' And she had. When he had spun around, she had laughed, but then all she could do was look at him. He didn't have the muscles yet to really look like Thor but she knew one day he would. As it was, his blonde hair and blue eyes fit the role perfectly. And the look in his eyes when he turned, well, she knew he would have used that hammer – costume or not- if it had been someone attacking. Yes, he fit the part of a good-looking super hero. After all, he had already come to her rescue once this school year.

Looking past Joe to the gathering of friends, Iola said, "Are you ready to party, Thor?"

Glancing over his shoulder, he laughed and said, "Only if Loki isn't around."

Laughing with him, she reached out her hand. Her eyes didn't leave his as his hand stretched to meet hers and they walked together toward the fire.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And yes, I have to admit that I totally wrote this whole story just to have Joe dress as Thor, because, you know I WILL write a story down the line with them in high school dressing up. ;-) And I so totally see Frank and Joe as Liam and Chris Hemsworth. Except for Liam's blue eyes, I think they are very Frank/Joe with Liam even being a bit taller than Chris who plays Thor. And if you don't know who I'm talking about, you should Google them. Anyway, thanks for reading!


End file.
